Ina Garten's Easy Cranberry & Apple Cake

While I enjoy making savory dinners, there is always room for dessert.  There, I said it.  I like dessert.  I don't eat dessert every night.  But once in a while I like to keep an arsenal of quick dessert recipes, for when the fancy strikes me to make something sweet.  I record some of my favorite Food Network shows, but sometimes it takes me days, weeks, months to find time to watch them.  Last week, I watched a recorded episode of "The Barefoot Contessa".  I watched Ina Garten make this very easy dessert, and I quickly searched for the recipe on line.  D'oh! It's in my latest Ina Garten cookbook "How Easy is That?" that I purchased, and I had forgotten about it.

As luck would have it, I had one more bag of frozen cranberries left, after I made the Cranberry-Almond Poundcake.  I had apples that needed to be used.  This would be tonight's dessert! 

I decided to use two Granny Smith apples, rather than Ina's one, in her recipe.  Cranberries can be a bit tart, so I wanted to increase the apple.  My apple corer helps me to peel, core and slice apples in less than a minute. It's one of my newest favorite kitchen tools.  You also need the zest of two oranges (1 Tbsp.)  and about 1/4 cup of fresh orange juice.

Because I didnt' want the apples to dominate the flavor, I used my secret ingredient, "Boiled Cider." (I buy this online at King Arthur Flour.) 

Combine cranberries, apples, brown sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and 1 teaspoon of  cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set it aside.

It took less than 15 minutes to make the batter.  The beauty of using butter in this recipe is that you melt it, and let it cool-- no having to wait to bring it to room temperature. You also need eggs, sugar, flour, sour cream, vanilla extract and a pinch of kosher salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. Can we talk about the paddle attachment that I use? It's a beater blade that I ordered online.  I love it, because it scrapes the sides of the bowl really well.  To know me, is to know that I love gadgets that make my life just a little easier!With the mixer on medium, add 1 cup of the granulated sugar, the butter, vanilla, and sour cream and beat just until combined. On low speed, slowly add the flour and salt. Pour the fruit mixture evenly into a 10-inch glass pie plate. Pour the batter over the fruit, covering it completely.

I didn't pay attention to the directions, and I sprinkled cinnamon on top.  I should have sprinkled cinnamon-sugar.  The sugar will leave a nice crunch to the cake, so I'm definitely going to do that next time.
NOTE: Be sure to place the cake on a parchment paper lined baking tray, before baking it in a 350 degree oven.  I checked my cake at 50 minutes, rather than 55 and the cake was ready.  Only poke a toothpick into the dough, as the fruit is going to be gooey!

See what I mean?  The fruit will bubble and flow over the sides.  The baking tray and parchment paper makes for easy cleanup.  This cake is best served warm or at room temperature.

A scoop of vanilla bean ice cream is perfect with this. (Or, fresh whipped cream.)

TASTING NOTES: I would call this a cross between a cobbler and a cheater pie, but the dough bakes into a tender cake consistency.  It's not too sweet, and easier than pie!  My husband thought the cranberries were a bit tart. Usually, I'm the one who is sensitive to sour/tart flavor. I actually thought the fruit had a perfect balance of sweet and tart.  My son agreed with me (for a change).  I plan to make this version with all apples. I also plan to make this with berries, and also when fresh peaches come into season.  

How easy is that?!

Now that I'm revisiting Ina's newest cookbook, I've bookmarked a few more recipes that I'll be cooking and baking over the next few weeks.  I love her recipes. This particular cookbook has a lot of easy recipes, and she does share some really great tips.  This book is worth the less than $25.00 investment.  The pictures, as always, are mouth-watering.

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Thanks, Ina!